ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Aug. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVNR) today announced the publication of the findings from the PRISM patient registry in PLOS ONE, an international, peer-reviewed, open-access medical journal. PRISM was the largest registry ever conducted to further understand prevalence and impact of pseudobulbar affect (PBA) in the United States. A link to the online article can be accessed at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0072232.

PRISM investigators enrolled 5290 patients with six common neurologic conditions often associated with PBA. More than one third of enrolled patients (n = 1944; 36.7%) had a CNS-LS score ≥13, suggesting PBA symptoms. The impact of the patient's neurological condition on quality of life (QOL) was significantly higher (worse) in these patients (mean score 6.7 vs. 4.7; P<0.0001). In addition, a greater percentage of patients with CNS-LS score ≥13 were being treated with antidepressant/antipsychotic medications (53.0% vs. 35.4%, respectively; P<0.0001).

"The results from PRISM demonstrate that PBA symptoms are common among patients with diverse neurological conditions," said Randall Kaye, MD, chief medical officer at Avanir Pharmaceuticals. "Higher CNS-LS scores were associated with significantly worse quality of life scores and greater use of antipsychotic/antidepressant medications. Publication of this important information will help healthcare practitioners better appreciate the frequency and multi-faceted impact of PBA symptoms in their neurologic patients."

The PBA Registry Series (PRISM) was established to provide PBA symptom prevalence data in a large, representative U.S. sample of patients in a clinical setting with neurological conditions known to be associated with PBA. A total of 5,290 patients were enrolled across 173 study sites, including 1,799 (34.0%) patients with Alzheimer's disease; 125 (2.4%) with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), 1,215 (23.0%) with multiple sclerosis, 804 (15.2%) with Parkinson's disease, 757 (14.3%) with stroke, and 590 (11.2%) with traumatic brain injury.

About PBAPBA is a neurologic condition characterized by emotional outbursts that are often contrary or exaggerated to the patient's inner mood state, causing them to laugh or cry uncontrollably. As a result, many of those afflicted with PBA show significant impairment on standard measures of health status, and disruption in occupational and social function, often leading to social isolation. PBA occurs secondary to a variety of neurologic conditions such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), multiple sclerosis (MS), Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), Parkinson's disease, stroke and Alzheimer's disease. When these disorders damage areas of the brain that regulate normal emotional expression, they can lead to uncontrollable, disruptive episodes of crying or laughing. For more information about PBA, please visit www.pbafacts.com.

The CNS-LS has been validated in ALS and MS patients.

About Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing innovative medicines to patients with central nervous system disorders of high unmet medical need. As part of our commitment, we have extensively invested in our pipeline and are dedicated to advancing medicines that can substantially improve the lives of patients and their loved ones. For more information about Avanir, please visit www.avanir.com.

AVANIR® is a trademark or registered trademark of Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

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